With England white ball star batters Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler in indifferent form, could England summon a batter with excellent knowledge of local conditions?
Jonny Bairstow struck a sublime unbeaten 60 to lead England to a dominant nine-wicket victory over South Africa in the first Twenty20 international in Southampton on Wednesday.
India bowled with a lot of perseverance to restrict England to 268 for 8 despite a defiant 89 from Jonny Bairstow on Day 1 of the third cricket Test in Mohali on Saturday.
England fast bowler Jofra Archer was ruled out of the Ashes series against Australia.
'The wicket was good to bat on, a lot of the batters got starts but didn't convert. This win gives us a lot of confidence. Very proud of such a young squad.'
Did you enjoy Noor Ahmad's superb showing with the ball?
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between India and England in Hyderabad on Saturday.
England's Jonny Bairstow steered his side to a three-wicket victory over New Zealand in the final game in Durham on Saturday.
Images from the ICC Men's ODI World Cup match between England and Pakistan at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday.
Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan could be out for at least seven to 10 days due to a shoulder injury, the team's head of cricket development Sanjay Bangar indicated after the narrow defeat to Rajasthan Royals in Mullanpur on Saturday.
England batsman Jonathan Trott has hailed the presence of a number of young batting stars in the team, but also underlined the importance of having a 'correct blend' of youth and experience in the squad.
Images from Day 3 of the fifth and final Test between India and England in Dharamsala on Saturday.
India's bid to win a 17th consecutive home Test series, however, hinges on the success of their three-pronged spin attack comprising Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings, in Bengaluru, on Monday.
India bowled England out for 218 and cruised to 135/1 in their robust reply to seize early control of the fifth and final test.
Despite a well-tuned 48 from local hero Riyan Parag, Rajasthan Royals struggled against an array of accurate bowlers on a rather slow pitch, meandering to a sub-par 144 for nine against Punjab Kings in their IPL match in Guwahati on Wednesday.
Dhawan hasn't had a great time with the bat in IPL 2024, but is still Kings' highest run-getter currently with 152 runs from five innings, scoring at a strike rate of 125.61.
Australia led England by 12 runs at the end of a tense and fluctuating second day to leave the final Ashes Test at The Oval on a knife-edge on Friday.
A look at statistics and aspects which have made SRH's 2024 season such a memorable one:
Three Just Stop Oil protesters charged after disrupting play at Lord's
As India faced off against Australia in their ICC Men's ODI World Cup opener at the M A Chidambaram stadium in Chennai, the game saw some early drama.
Images from Day 4 of the third Test between India and England at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Sunday
That merging of skills and temperament has made him a much more desirable player than in the past.
The last time England toured India, back in early 2021, Joe Root's team went back home beaten and bruised 3-1.
Smarting from their nine-wicket thrashing by New Zealand in the tournament opener, England amassed 364-9 after their top order fired with Malan forging century-plus partnerships with Jonny Bairstow (52) and Joe Root (82).
'Earlier, if I have thought about taking six wickets, it has never worked for me. I have a lot of deliveries and you can confuse yourself. You need to shut that noise and focus on the next ball.'
New pace sensation Mayank Yadav will be closely followed by all and sundry after his match-winning performances as Lucknow Super Giants eye a hat-trick of wins when they take on an inconsistent Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League match in Lucknow on Sunday.
Punjab Kings batters to face different challenge against Gujarat Titans
England pace bowler Mark Wood on Friday said opener Ben Duckett forced India to constantly change the field placement as he played a "skilful innings against a good attack" in Rajkot on the second day of the third Test.
Images from the ICC World Cup match between England and the Netherlands, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium, in Pune, on Wednesday.
Jonny Bairstow fell five runs short of a maiden Test century on Saturday before South Africa took their lead in the match to 139 at the end of day three of the third and final Test against England at Lord's.
LSG, Punjab Super Kings will be aiming to bounce back after losing their previous match.
For the 'Bazball' inspired England, the win in Hyderabad has become a distant memory and a repeat of 2021 looks likely when India bounced back to win the four-Test series 3-1.
Stuart Broad picked up the final two wickets in his last appearance for England to guide the hosts to a series-levelling 49-run victory in the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia.
'It was during Covid that Ashwin realised that family can also be a part of his life. So he expanded a little bit to give us space which gave him more happiness and stability to deal with a lot of things on the field. That is why he has had a detached attachment over the last few years.'
Images from the IPL match between Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium, Hyderabad, on Sunday.
England batted with positive intent to take control of the final Ashes Test at The Oval on Saturday, moving on to 389-9 at the close on the third day with a 377-run lead over Australia.
MCC "unreservedly apologised" to the Australian team after its few members allegedly abused several visiting players in the Lord's Long Room following Jonny Bairstow's controversial dismissal.
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